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The challenges of mowing the lawn

Mowing the lawn is a bit like playing whack-a-mole, at least where I live. You cut the grass in one area down to a reasonable size, but by the time you do that, the grass has grown up elsewhere, forcing you to mow that down. And the area you mowed before that one? It’s grown up again, that sneaky little bastard, and you gotta do it all over again.

This is especially noticeable if your lawn is bigger than your living room and you own only a measly gas-powered lawnmower that sometimes conks out. Throw in rain and sunshine at the most inopportune moments and suddenly it seems easier to let the grass take over your property than it does to cut it down to size.

Nonetheless, when the weather cooperates and I am feeling up to it, I put on my old work jeans, my baseball cap, and my work gloves and get to work. Usually by the time I finish I am hot, sweaty, and exhausted, not to mention more than a little resentful toward Mother Nature for working properly when I don’t want her to.

Our front lawn is fairly easy to take care of, as is the driveway. Both rarely get out of control. And on the unusual occasions when they do, they’re easy to mow down to a reasonable height. Because those are the places guests and visitors usually see first, I have a stronger motivation to keep those areas in good condition than I do the other parts of our property.

It’s the backyard that’s the problem. Because it’s been so hot this summer and our lawnmower was out of commission for a while, we’ve been forced to let it grow. It’s grown up to my waist, which is no laughing matter when you’re 5’8″ like I am. I’ve made some progress in recent weeks, having cut down the grass that was almost up to our back door, but there’s so much to do and at this point I am pretty sure the grass is laughing at me behind my back. When I finish it, I may post pictures here as proof of my conquest.

Have any lawn work that urgently needs to be done? Finished something you’ve been working hard on for a while? Share your stories and thoughts in the comments below.